I had dialogue with the late, legendary Brian Inder in 2013 to see if I could help him on his business plan for the Mt Rowland (tulunpunga is palawa name) cable car.

This is an email he crafted for my education. In the end I could not help as I was subsequently employed in Tatura for Goulburn Murray Water.

In it you will find a remarkable description of his vision, and the poem at the bottom is the inscription on his amazing plaque at the Edge of the World.

They both say everything you need to know about this visionary individual. The outline from Brian is an exemplary description of his view of tourism needs in Kentish.

I am shattered the proponent and Kentish Council have withdrawn their efforts. Their lack of will is nothing short of disgraceful, thus it is here that Tourism Tasmania and the state government should intervene ASAP. Definitely one for the Tourist Industry Council of Tasmania and Luke Martin!

Brian showed me where the plan was for the cable car route and it was arguably not visible from the scenic road, unlike the MWCC obscenity which deliberately wanted to create an unmissable visual impact. He agreed that Aboriginal heritage sites should be identified and fully protected.

They will all hear from me shortly with a draft business plan!!

– John Powell

TULUNPUNGA TRAVESTY 

In Tasmania’s north-west there is a major thrust from the locals to construct a cable car to traverse the face of what many believe is the most beautiful and spectacular mountain in the Commonwealth.

The guiding group carries some weight. A barrister, two experienced lawyers, a pair of MBAs and others who know their way around the financial and tourist world.

Allied to that is the local population. highly in favour of the project, keen to see it happen and anxious to invest so that full ownership resides in Tasmania.

There won’t be any foreign boards making decisions that will devastate our economy, or handouts from the government that come with strings attached. Plus some icing on the cake: the Greens are in favour and happy to see the project proceed.

The group believes that a cable car for Hobart’s kunanyi / Mount Wellington is a mistake. The right idea but the wrong mountain.  It would be a very sad and ignoble event if the great majesty of kunanyi were to be relegated to serve as just another venue for retail therapy.

The existing road to the summit would be a major cable car competitor from day one. Another would be MONA. Nothing competes with MONA in the same space. It dominates 75% of the tourist interest in Hobart, thus leaving the cable car to contest the remaining 25% with the old guard. There would have to be losers.

Another mistake is the long entrenched and promoted view that north-west Tasmania is not worth visiting: nothing of substance there, a desert, and even the hippies are starving.

This is all the more galling because the north-west is arguably the most beautiful part of the island, a compact area with great depth and variety.

Let’s look at it.

Within the Cradle Mountain and Lakes District which includes Sheffield and Mount Roland, there are five mountain ranges and 45 mountains. In excess of 2000 kilometres of walking tracks. Over 4000 lakes and tarns, many in the world heritage areas. 18 rivers plus their tributaries. 275 kilometres of beaches of all types. 2 canyons, 3 separate and extensive cave systems and five national parks.

All of it, in the words of wilderness poet John Reed: ‘making a mockery of man-made monuments of city and town’.

Sheffield – Mt Roland has been designated as an adventure precinct. All sorts of adventure and extreme sports will be centred there. The cable car will be necessary to cope with them.

John Eldrege in his book Wild At Heart has put his finger on it:

“Adventure, with all its requisite danger and wildness is a deeply spiritual longing

written into the soul of man. The masculine heart needs a place where nothing is

prefabricated, modular, non-fat, ziplocked, franchised, microwavable.

  Where there is room for the soul.

Where finally the geography around us corresponds to the geography of our heart.”

Well that’s no longer kunanyi, with suburbs to its foothills. But it is Mount Roland and Cradle Mountain.

Because of its obvious spiritual presence Mount Roland has been recognised as Tasmania’s Uluru.  At first sight the impact on the beholder can be quite remarkable. “So beautiful”, an American tourist was heard to declare, “that it makes you want to love somebody.”

And surrounding it all is the rest of the magical countryside stretching to the Edge of the World and blessed with the world’s cleanest air and water. You can lose yourself in the forests and experience the caress of nature, feel the solitude and mystery of the secret and hidden places. Feel Cape country.

Let’s get down to the hard facts of commerce. Can we put bums on seats?

What is required in a great stress-break holiday destination? Well, we kick off with transport first. We have 3 commercial airports in the immediate area. All connected internationally. The world can come.

Two state of the art passenger/vehicle ferries designed for rapid and reliable daily services between Devonport and Melbourne, servicing a city of 4 million–and the rest of the mainland. Well-supported cruising ships berth at both Burnie and Devonport.

Tasmazia.

*Then include ease of travel to and within the location with use of own car.

*Low stress travel within location. Low traffic density, low mileage, good roads, good maps and signs.

*Wide variety of accommodation to suit every budget. Accommodation in urban, seaside, country, mountain and wilderness areas,

*Wide variety of eating places from haute-cuisine to takeaways and coffee shops.

*World’s best champagne-style wines, artisanal foods and whiskies.

*Uncrowded.

*Casinos, speedways, golf courses and links.

*Gourmet food trails that take weeks to experience.

*The world’s largest outdoor art gallery and home to the only art competition of its kind, the Sheffield Mural Fest.

*Renowned family attraction Tasmazia and the Village of Lower Crackpot.

*The personal and insightful Edge of the World (see below).

*Extensive wineries and vineyards.

*International rowing course on Lake Barrington, venue of 1990 world rowing event.

Some desert.

As is well understood, in setting up a new business venture there are three rules that must be observed if failure is to be avoided: location, location, location.

I hope that there is someone in Hobart that will sit quietly and do the maths, especially taking into account that the Mount Roland cable car will be built for a fraction of the Mt Wellington Cableway Company project.

– Brian Inder, Promised Land, Tas  7306. December 2013 

The Edge of The World
north-west coast Tasmania  

I cast my pebble onto the shore of eternity.
To be washed by the ocean of time.
It has shape, form, and substance. 
It is me.
One day I will be no more.
But my pebble will remain here.
On the shore of eternity.
Mute witness from the aeons.
That today I came and stood
At the edge of the world. 

– Brian Inder